Dispersion and grinding machine

ABSTRACT

The present invention can suppress variations in dispersion and grinding processing, apply stable shearing force to a material to be processed, and also enable efficient dispersion and grinding. The present invention has a supply portion ( 10 A), a processing portion ( 10 B), and a discharge portion ( 10 C). The processing portion ( 10 B) includes a stator ( 12   b ), and a rotor ( 11   b ). The material to be processed is processed in a gap (Gt) between an outer peripheral surface of the rotor ( 11   b ) and an inner peripheral surface of the stator ( 12   b ). The inner peripheral surface of the stator ( 12   b ) and the outer peripheral surface of the rotor ( 11   b ) are circular in a cross section orthogonally intersecting the axis of the rotor ( 11   b ) and linear in a cross section bearing the axis. The gap (Gt) is constant in the circumferential direction and the axial direction.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a dispersion and grinding machine forperforming dispersion or grinding processing to a material to beprocessed without using a medium.

BACKGROUND ART

Various types of dispersion machines have been developed as theabove-mentioned machines for performing dispersion or grindingprocessing. Among such dispersion machines, there is a colloid mill-typedispersion machine.

This dispersion machine includes a pair of upper and lower disk-shapedgrindstones, and the upper and lower grindstones are relatively rotatedwith their axes aligning with each other. The granular material(material to be processed) that is supplied to a central charging partis thereby atomized in the course of being discharged to the outerperiphery through a gap between the grindstones (for example, refer toJapanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-153167).

Meanwhile, with the dispersion machine of Japanese Unexamined PatentPublication No. 2000-153167, since the peripheral velocity at a portionnear the axis of the grindstone is different from the peripheralvelocity at a portion near the periphery in the gap between thegrindstones, the shearing force applied to the material to be processedis smaller at the portion near the axis than at the portion near theperiphery. Accordingly, since the material to be processed moves in ashearing force distribution having a gradient of shearing force, adifference in the shearing force that is applied to the material to beprocessed will arise depending on positions where the material to beprocessed moves, which causes a problem that variations tend to arise inthe dispersion processing.

Moreover, with the dispersion machine of Japanese Unexamined PatentPublication No. 2000-153167, since there is a considerably greatgradient in the shearing force distribution in the gap (dispersionregion) between the upper and lower grindstones, it is difficult toapply a relatively stable shearing force to the material to beprocessed. In particular, there is a problem that a sufficient shearingforce cannot be applied at a portion near the axis of the grindstones inthe gap. In addition, with the dispersion machine of, a lower surface ofthe upper grindstone and an upper surface of the lower grindstone arenot flat and are formed at a predetermined inclination. Thus, since thegap between both grindstones will change in the circumferentialdirection and the radial direction, the material to be processed in theform of a fluid existing in the gap will be seen to have changedviscosities in view of Newton's well-known viscosity equation, whichcauses a problem that dispersion cannot be performed efficiently.

The dispersion machine of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.2000-153167 will encounter the same situation when used for grinding asolid.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention was devised in order to solve the foregoingproblems of the conventional technologies, and an object of thisinvention is to provide a dispersion and grinding machine capable ofsuppressing variations in the dispersion or grinding processing,applying stable shearing force to a material to be processed, and alsorealizing efficient dispersion or grinding.

The dispersion and grinding machine according to one mode of the presentinvention comprises a supply portion for supplying a material to beprocessed, a processing portion for subjecting the material to beprocessed, which is supplied by the supply portion, to dispersion orgrinding processing, and a discharge portion for discharging, from theprocessing portion, the material that has been processed by theprocessing portion, wherein the processing portion includes a statorhaving an inner cavity, and a rotor provided in the inner cavity androtatable about an axis of the stator, and the material to be processedis processed in a gap between an outer peripheral surface of the rotorand an inner peripheral surface of the stator, the inner peripheralsurface facing the outer peripheral surface of the rotor, and whereinthe inner peripheral surface of the stator and the outer peripheralsurface of the rotor are circular in a cross section orthogonallyintersecting the axis of the rotor, and linear in a cross sectionbearing the axis, and the gap between the inner peripheral surface ofthe stator and the outer peripheral surface of the rotor is constant inthe circumferential direction and the axial direction. It should benoted that the expression of “the gap is constant” is a concept thatincludes “substantially constant”. Moreover, the expression of “crosssection is circular” is a concept that includes not only “trulycircular” but also “substantially circular”.

In the foregoing configuration, the material to be processed can besubjected to dispersion or grinding (dispersion or grinding ishereinafter referred to as “dispersion/grinding”) between the innerperipheral surface of the stator and the outer peripheral surface of therotor. Moreover, since the gap between the stator and the rotor isconstant in the circumferential direction and the axial direction, theviscosity of the material to be processed that is subject todispersion/grinding processing can be stabilized in comparison to theconventional technologies, and efficient dispersion/grinding is enabled.Moreover, since both the inner peripheral surface of the stator and theouter peripheral surface of the rotor are linear in a cross sectionbearing the axis, in the case where both the inner peripheral surface ofthe stator and the outer peripheral surface of the rotor are parallel tothe axis, a shearing force distribution that is free from any gradientof shearing force is obtainable. Otherwise, in the case where both theinner peripheral surface of the stator and the outer peripheral surfaceof the rotor are inclined relative to the axis, a shearing forcedistribution having a smaller gradient of shearing force is obtainable.Since the material to be processed moves in the foregoing shearing forcedistribution, an intended shearing force can be applied to the materialto be processed from the initial stage of dispersion/grinding processingby adjusting the diameter of the rotor, and it is thereby possible toapply a stable shearing force to the material to be processed from theinitial stage of processing. Furthermore, although the material to beprocessed moves in different locations, it is possible to suppress thedifference in the applied shearing force, and thereby suppressvariations in the dispersion/grinding processing. In addition, since thematerial to be processed is supplied from the supply portion to theprocessing portion, the supplied material is processed in the processingportion, and the discharge portion discharges the processed material, itis possible to continuously perform the dispersion/grinding processing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a frontal cross sectional view showing a dispersion andgrinding machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a frontal cross sectional view showing a main part of thedispersion and grinding machine illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a frontal cross sectional view showing a main part of adispersion and grinding machine according to another embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a frontal cross sectional showing a main part of a dispersionand grinding machine according to yet another embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a frontal cross sectional view showing a main part of adispersion and grinding machine according to still yet anotherembodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the present invention is now described in detail.

An example of performing dispersion processing is foremost described.

FIG. 1 is a frontal cross sectional view showing a dispersion machineaccording to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is afrontal cross sectional view showing a main part thereof. Here, the term“dispersion” means a state where one or more of two or more types ofsubstances not combinable with one another exist uniformly in the othertypes of substances in the form of fine particles, and the term“grinding” means the act of pulverizing a solid into pieces.

The dispersion machine 1 comprises a base 2, a dispersion machine body10 that is disposed on the base 2, and a driver 20 that drives thedispersion machine body 10. The dispersion machine body 10 includes, inorder from one end side (right side), a supply portion 10A, a processingportion 10B and a discharge portion 10C, and the portions 10A to 10Cinclude rotors 11 a to 11 c and stators 12 a to 12 c, respectively. Inthis embodiment, the respective rotors 11 a to 11 c of the portions 10Ato 10C are provided on the outside of a rotational shaft 21, and formedwith hollows (illustrated with broken lines in FIG. 2) to allow therotational shaft 21 to be inserted therethrough, and integrated with oneanother with their respective axes being aligned, thereby constituting arotary body 3 having an annular cross section.

The driver 20 includes the rotational shaft 21, and a rotating driver 22that drivingly rotates the rotational shaft 21.

The rotating driver 22 comprises an electric motor 23, and an endlessbelt 24 that is placed across an output shaft 23 a of the electric motor23 and the rotational shaft 21. The rotational shaft 21 is turnablysupported by a pair of bearing members 25 a, 25 b.

The supply portion 10A includes a supply portion rotor 11 a, a supplyportion stator 12 a that surrounds the supply portion rotor 11 a, and aseal member 15 described later, and supplies a material to be processedto a processing portion 10B under a supply pressure of the material tobe processed that has been supplied to the supply portion 10A and acentrifugal force generated by the rotation of an inlet rotor 13 adescribed later. The supply pressure of the material to be processed isgenerated, for example, by feeding the material to be processed with ascrew feeder or a liquid feeding pump (neither are shown) that isconnected to a supply hole 14 b formed in the supply portion stator 12a. The material to be processed does not have to be forcibly fed to thesupply hole 14 b with the screw feeder or the liquid feeding pump, butmay be appreciated to be supplied by a way of natural drop or othermethods. In the foregoing case, the material to be processed is suppliedto the processing portion 10B under the centrifugal force that isgenerated by the rotation of the inlet rotor 13 a. Accordingly, thesupply pressure may be specifically set, for example, between 0.0 and0.5 MPa.

The supply portion rotor 11 a includes the inlet rotor 13 a, which hasan annular cross section, mounted on the outside of the rotational shaft21, and a substantially cylindrical tubular member 13 c that issimilarly mounted on the outside of the rotational shaft 21.

The inlet rotor 13 a is formed to have a constant inner diameter, but tohave a smaller outer diameter at the right side (inlet side) than at theleft side (outlet side) to define a tapered shape. The outer diameter ofthe right end surface 13 a 1 of the inlet rotor 13 a is made to belarger than that of the rotational shaft 21 to thereby define a steppedpart 13 a 2 to the outer peripheral surface of the rotational shaft 21(refer to FIG. 2). The tubular member 13 c is mounted in a state wherethe rotational shaft 21 is inserted therethrough, and is formed with anannular recess 13 c 1 in the entire circumference of the end portion ofthe outer peripheral surface of the tubular member 13 c that is closerto the stepped part 13 a 2. The bottom surface of the recess 13 c 1 andthe outer peripheral edge of the right end surface 13 a 1 of the inletrotor 13 a are configured to have the same radius. In other words, thethickness of the part formed with the recess 13 c 1 and the extent ofthe stepped part 13 a 2 are made to be the same.

The supply portion stator 12 a comprises a block-shaped stator body 14,a through-hole 14 a formed in a center part of the stator body 14 andextending in a horizontal direction, and the supply hole 14 b extendingin a vertical direction (radial direction of the rotational shaft 21) tojoin the through-hole 14 a. The inlet rotor 13 a and the tubular member13 c are inserted through the through-hole 14 a. Moreover, the supplyhole 14 b is adapted for charging the material to be processed, andextends in the vertical direction (radial direction of the rotationalshaft 21) so that its lower opening joins the recess 13 c 1.

The inner peripheral surface defining the through-hole 14 a includes afirst region 14 a 1 that faces the inlet rotor 13 a, and a second region14 a 2 that faces the tubular member 13 c. The first region 14 a 1 ofthe supply portion stator 12 a serves as an inlet stator 14 c thatcovers the inlet rotor 13 a.

The first region 14 a 1 is formed to have a tapered shape similar to theouter peripheral surface of the inlet rotor 13 a; specifically, theright side (inlet side) is made to have a smaller diameter than the leftside (outlet side). A gap Ga for moving the material to be processed isdefined over the entire circumference between the first region 14 a 1and the outer peripheral surface of the inlet rotor 13 a. Meanwhile, theforegoing second region 14 a 2 is formed to have a constant innerdiameter, and comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface ofthe tubular member 13 c; more specifically, comes into contact with theouter peripheral surface on the right side of the recess 13 c 1.

An annular seal member 15 is provided on the right side of the supplyportion stator 12 a and the tubular member 13 c. The seal member 15 ismounted on the rotational shaft 21 in a state where the rotational shaft21 passing through an inner cavity thereof, and prevents the material tobe processed from leaking to the opposite side of the supply portion 10Avia the rotational shaft 21.

With the supply portion 10A configured as described above, the loweropening of the supply hole 14 b is in communication with the recess 13 c1, and the material to be processed is charged from the upper opening ofthe supply hole 14 b. The material to be processed having been chargedin the supply hole 14 b is introduced into the recess 13 c 1 and fedfrom the right side to the left side (to the processing portion 10B) inthe gap Ga. The feeding of the material to be processed is performedwith the rotation of the inlet rotor 13 a from the small diameter sidehaving a slow peripheral velocity to the large diameter side having afast peripheral velocity. The inclination of the outer peripheralsurface of the inlet rotor 13 a relative to the axis is set atapproximately 45 degrees in this embodiment. This inclination angle ismerely an example, and the inclination may be set at a different angle.Moreover, the gap Ga of the supply portion 10A is set to be greater thana gap Gt of the processing portion 10B described later.

The processing portion 10B comprises the processing portion rotor 11 b,and the processing portion stator 12 b that surrounds the processingportion rotor 11 b. The processing portion rotor 11 b is formed into acylindrical shape and through which the rotational shaft 21 passes.Meanwhile, the processing portion stator 12 b is formed into acylindrical shape having an inner cavity 12 d, and through which theprocessing portion rotor 11 b is inserted. The gap Gt is made to beconstant over the entire region in the circumferential direction and theentire region in the axial direction between the outer peripheralsurface of the processing portion rotor 11 b and the inner peripheralsurface of the processing portion stator 12 b. The gap Gt functions soas to perform the dispersion or grinding processing described later. Theouter diameter of the processing portion rotor 11 b and the outerdiameter of the left end surface of the inlet rotor 13 a are made to bethe same. The outer diameter of the processing portion rotor 11 b is setat, for example, between 10 and 1000 mm. A ratio (L/D) of the outerdiameter D of the processing portion rotor 11 b and the length L of theprocessing rotor 11 b is preferably set, for example, within a range of0.04 to 5.0, and more preferably within a range of 0.5 to 2.0 in orderto further alleviate the following flaws. When the ratio (L/D) issmaller than 0.04, the length relative to the outer diameter is short,and it becomes difficult to apply appropriate shearing force for anappropriate time to the material to be processed, and the dispersionefficiency will thus deteriorate. Meanwhile, when the foregoing ratio(L/D) is greater than 5.0, it is difficult to maintain the constant gapGt, and the internal pressure loss will increase, anddispersion/grinding cannot thus be performed appropriately.

Moreover, the gap Gt is set within the range of 10 μm to 1 mm. Thereason why the gap Gt is limited at 10 μm or more is that when the gapGt is less than 10 μm, there is a possibility that the processingportion rotor 11 b and the processing portion stator 12 b are likely togenerate an abnormal heat. The lower limit may be preferably set at 50μm or more in order to more reliably prevent the generation of abnormalheat. Meanwhile, when the gap Gt exceeds 1 mm, for example, the shearingstress (τ) in the known Petroffs equation will decrease, and it becomesdifficult to perform the dispersion (or grinding) up to the intendedlevel. The Petroffs equation is represented as shown in Formula (1)below.τ=ηU/c (wherein η: viscosity, U: speed, and c: gap Gt)  (1)

The shearing speed in the gap Gt is preferably set at, for example, 3000to 600000 (l/s), and more preferably set within a range of 20000 to500000. Specifically, the shearing speed is set by setting the rotatingspeed of the processing portion rotor 11 b relative to the gap Gt. Bysetting the shearing speed within the foregoing range, it is possible toapply stable shearing force to the material to be processed from theinitial stage of the processing, and stably perform thedispersion/grinding processing.

Moreover, the outer surface of the processing portion rotor 11 b and theinner surface of the processing portion stator 12 b are both formed tohave a smooth surface that is free from unevenness. More specifically,the outer surface of the processing portion rotor 11 b and the innersurface of the processing portion stator 12 b are both formed to have astraight line that is parallel with the axis in the longitudinal sectionthat passes the axis and a circle in the transverse section thatperpendicularly intersects the axis. Thereby, the gap Gt can be made tobe uniform over the entire region between the processing portion rotor11 b and the processing portion stator 12 b. The radius of theprocessing portion rotor 11 b and the processing portion stator 12 baffects the dispersion processing speed, and the length of theprocessing portion rotor 11 b and the processing portion stator 12 b inthe axial direction affects the dispersion processing time. The radiusand the length in the axial direction may be experimentally selectedaccording to the type of material to be processed, the ultimateprocessing level, and other factors.

Moreover, the processing portion rotor 11 b and the processing portionstator 12 b are formed, for example, of a material having a hardsubstance on the surface of a stainless steel. Nevertheless, thematerial for the processing portion rotor 11 b and the processingportion stator 12 b may be different from the foregoing material. Theprocessing portion stator 12 b may be formed with a cooling water path16 in a solid part thereof to cool the processing portion stator 12 b bythe cooling water that passes through the cooling water path 16. Thereference numeral 16 b in FIG. 2 denotes an inlet for charging thecooling water, and reference numeral 16 c denotes an outlet fordischarging the cooling water.

The discharge portion 10C comprises the discharge portion rotor 11 c,and the discharge portion stator 12 c that surrounds the dischargeportion rotor 11 c, and is provide with a converging guide part 10C1 onthe upstream side in the direction (horizontal direction) of feeding thematerial to be processed, and a feeding out part 10C2 on the downstreamside. The diameter of the converging guide part 10C1 decreases as itapproaches the discharge end, thereby performing a function ofconcentrating into spots the dispersed material having been subjected tothe dispersion processing in the tubular space sandwiched between therotor 11 b and the stator 12 b in the processing portion 10B. Theconverging guide part 10C1 includes a conical rotor 17 described later,and a guide member 30 that surrounds the conical rotor 17. The feedingout part 10C2, which is located on the downstream side of the convergingguide part, is a portion that forcibly feeds out the processed material,and includes a screw rotor 18 described later, and an outlet stator 31that surrounds the screw rotor 18.

The discharge portion rotor 11 c includes the conical rotor 17 and thescrew rotor 18 through both of which the rotational shaft 21 internallypasses. In this embodiment, the outer diameter of the rotational shaft21 is reduced according to the respective diameters of the conical rotor17 and the screw rotor 18. However, the outer diameter of the rotationalshaft 21 may be made to be constant over the entire axial length inconsideration of the respective inner diameters of the rotors 11 a to 11c of the portions 10A to 10C.

The conical rotor 17 has an outer peripheral surface having a taperedshape which is opposite to that of the inlet rotor 13 a, that is, theright side is made to have a diameter larger than the left side, and theouter diameter of the right end of the conical rotor 17 coincides withthe outer diameter of the processing portion rotor 11 b. The innerdiameter of the conical rotor 17 is constant, thereby rendering theconical rotor 17 to have an annular cross section. Since the outerperipheral surface of the conical rotor 17 is formed in the taperedshape opposite to that of the inlet rotor 13 a, it does not have thefunction of feeding the processed material to the left side (outletside). For this reason, the screw rotor 18 is provided to the left endof the conical rotor 17 so as to forcibly feed out the processedmaterial having been conveyed up to the conical rotor 17 under thesupply pressure and the centrifugal force generated by the rotation ofthe inlet rotor 13 a.

The screw rotor 18 comprises a bar-shaped member 18 a in which therotational shaft 21 is inserted excluding the left discharging end andwhich has a circular outer peripheral surface, and a fin 18 b spirallyprovided on the outer peripheral surface of the bar-shaped member 18 a.The fin 18 b is formed so as to discharge the processed material withthe rotation of the screw rotor 18, that is, the fin 18 b is formed intoa spiral whose winding direction is a predetermined direction. The screwrotor 18 may be directly mounted on the rotational shaft 21, or mayalternatively be mounted concentrically on the rotational shaft 21 by away of different methods.

The discharge portion stator 12 c is made of a plurality of memberssurrounding the outside of the discharge portion rotor 11 c. Morespecifically, the discharge portion stator 12 c comprises a guide member30 that surrounds the conical rotor 17 and constitutes the convergingguide part 10C1 together with the conical rotor 17, an outlet stator 31that surrounds the screw rotor 18 and constitutes the feeding out part10C2 together with the screw rotor 18, and a holding part 10C3 thatholds the guide member 30 and the outlet stator 31 in an intended state.The holding part 10C3 includes three holding members 32, 33, 34 in thisembodiment. The holding member 32 presses the guide member 30 toward theprocessing portion stator 12 b, and restrains a right end part of theoutlet stator 31. The holding member 33 restrains a left end part of theoutlet stator 31, and the holding member 34 holds the holding member 33.The holding part 10C3 may be made of two or four or more members, or maybe alternatively formed into a single body.

An inside of the guide member 30 is formed with an insertion hole 30 athrough which the conical rotor 17 is inserted, and the inner peripheralsurface of the insertion hole 30 a is formed into a similar shape to theouter peripheral surface of the conical rotor 17. A gap Gb for movingthe processed material is formed over the entire region in thecircumferential direction and the axial direction between the innerperipheral surface of the insertion hole 30 a and the outer peripheralsurface of the conical rotor 17. The gap Gb of the discharge portion 10Cis set to be larger than the gap Gt of the processing portion 10B. Thegap Gb of the discharge portion 10C does not need to be constant overthe region along the axial direction of the conical rotor 17, but mayvary at different locations.

Moreover, an inside of the outlet stator 31 is formed with an insertionhole 31 b having a constant inner diameter for allowing the screw rotor18 to be inserted. The inner diameter of the outlet stator 31 is set tobe larger than the outer diameter of the fin 18 b. The outlet stator 31is made, for example, of the same material as the processing portionstator 12 b, or of a different material. Moreover, the screw rotor 18 ismade of a material for a screw used in injection molding or othermaterial.

The outlet stator 31 is provided with a cooling mechanism 35 on anoutside thereof. The cooling mechanism 35 is provided on the outside ofthe outlet stator 31, and comprises a cylindrical passage forming member36 that forms a cooling water passage with the outlet stator 31, aninlet 36 a provided on the passage forming member 36 for allowing thecooling water to be charged, and an outlet 36 b provided on the passageforming member 36 for allowing the cooling water to be discharged.

Furthermore, an inside of the last arranged holding member 34 is formedwith a through-hole 34 a having the same inner diameter as the innerdiameter of the outlet stator 31. The left side (other end) of the lastarranged holding member 34 is provided with a discharge outlet 37 fordischarging the processed material to the outside, and the processedmaterial is discharged from the discharge outlet 37. The dischargeoutlet 37 constitutes the discharge portion 10C.

Contents of the dispersion processing performed by the dispersionmachine 1 of this embodiment configured as described above are nowexplained.

The electric motor 23 is put into work to rotate the rotational shaft 21and the rotating body 3. In this state, the material to be processed issupplied into the supply hole 14 b. The supplied material reaches therecess 13 c 1 via the supply hole 14 b. Subsequently, the material to beprocessed moves in the gap Ga between the inlet rotor 13 a and the firstregion 14 a 1, and then reaches the processing portion 10B owing to therotation of the inlet rotor 13 a constituting the supply portion 10A,and other forces.

The material to be processed having been conveyed to the processingportion 10B moves in the gap Gt between the outer peripheral surface ofthe processing portion rotor 11 b and the inner peripheral surface ofthe processing portion stator 12 b, and dispersion processing isperformed during this movement. In this process, as described above, thedispersion processing speed is affected by the radius of the processingportion rotor 11 b and the processing portion stator 12 b, and thedispersion processing time is affected by the axial length of theprocessing portion rotor 11 b and the processing portion stator 12 b.

The processed material having been subjected to the dispersionprocessing in the processing portion 10B is discharged outward from thedischarge outlet 37 of the discharge portion 10C.

With the dispersion machine 1 of this embodiment that performs thedispersion processing as described above, upon the material to beprocessed being conveyed from the supply portion 10A to the processingportion 10B, the material to be processed is subjected to thedispersions/grinding processing in the gap Gt between the innerperipheral surface of the processing portion stator 12 b and the outerperipheral surface of the processing portion rotor 11 b of theprocessing portion 10B. Moreover, since the gap Gt is made to beconstant in the circumferential direction and in the axial centerdirection of the processing portion rotor 11 b, the viscosity of thematerial subjected to the dispersion processing is stabilized, andefficient dispersion processing is enabled.

Moreover, in this embodiment, since both the inner periphery of theprocessing portion stator 12 b and the outer periphery of the processingportion rotor 11 b in the processing portion 10B are made to be linearalong the axis, it is possible to obtain a shearing force distributionhaving no gradient of shearing force. Since the material to be processedmoves in such a shearing force distribution, an intended shearing forcecan be applied to the material to be processed by adjusting the diameterof the processing portion rotor 11 b, and it is thereby possible toapply stable shearing force to the material to be processed.Furthermore, even when the material to be processed moves throughdifferent positions between the processing portion stator 12 b and theprocessing portion rotor 11 b, it is possible to suppress the differencein the applied shearing force, and thereby suppress variations in thedispersion processing. In addition, since the material to be processedis supplied from the supply portion 10A to the processing portion 10B,the supplied material to be processed is processed in the processingportion 10B, and the discharge portion 10C discharges the processedmaterial, it is possible to continuously perform the dispersionprocessing. Moreover, it is possible to suppress the power consumptionto a predetermined production volume. Furthermore, since a simpleconfiguration in which the rotating body 3 is merely surrounded by thestators 12 a, 12 b, and 12 c is adopted, the maintenance is easy, andthe initial costs can also be reduced.

Moreover, in this embodiment, since the processing portion rotor 11 b inthe processing portion 10B is made to have the constant outer diameteralong the axial direction, high efficiency processing is enabled overthe entire region from the entry side end to the exit side end of theprocessing portion 10B. Meanwhile, in Patent Literature 1, theefficiency of dispersion or grinding processing increases as approachingthe outer periphery of the disk-shaped grindstone, and it is impossibleto constantly perform the high efficiency processing from the center tothe outer periphery of the grindstone.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the discharge portion 10Ccomprises the screw rotor 18 and the outlet stator 31 that surrounds thescrew rotor 18, the screw rotor 18 will forcibly discharge the materialhaving been processed in the processing portion 10B, which consequentlymakes it possible to suppress prospective increase in the internalpressure in the processing portion 10B.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the supply portion 10A comprisesthe tapered inlet rotor 13 a having the outer peripheral surface whosediameter is larger closer to the processing portion 10B than the inletend of the supply portion 10A, and the inlet stator 14 that surroundsthe inlet rotor 13 a, in other words, both the outer diameter of theinlet rotor 13 a and the inner diameter of the inlet stator 14 are madeto be larger closer to the processing portion than the inlet end, thematerial to be processed can be more easily sucked into the processingportion 10B, and the material to be processed can be smoothly suppliedto the processing portion 10B.

It is needless to say that the dispersion machine 1 of this embodimentcan be used as a grinding machine for grinding a material to beprocessed.

The material to be processed has not been specified in the foregoingdescription. However, the following materials are specified as materialsthat can be subjected to the dispersion or grinding processing in theembodiment of the present invention.

(A) Materials for batteries such as lithium ion batteries;

(B) Coating materials for color filters and antireflection materials foruse in FPD (flat panel displays) of liquid crystal TVs and the like;

(C) Materials for electronic components such as capacitors;

(D) Organic/inorganic materials (pigments) for paints and inks;

(E) Organic/inorganic materials (pigments) for coloring materials; and

(F) Other organic/inorganic materials that are available in the market.

Here, the dispersion processing performed for the materials of foregoing(A) to (F) targets a mixture of a liquid and a liquid, a mixture of oneor more types of liquids and one or more types of solids, a mixture of asolid and a solid, and so on. Here, with the mixture of a liquid and aliquid, one liquid is dispersed in the other liquid, with the mixture ofone or more types of liquids and one or more types of solids, the solidis dispersed in the liquid, and with the mixture of a solid and a solid,one solid is dispersed in the other solid. Moreover, the grindingprocessing performed for the materials of foregoing (A) to (F) targets amixture of one or more types of liquids and one or more types of solids,one or more types of solids, and so on. In this case, the processing isto grind a solid.

Furthermore, in the foregoing embodiment, the outer surface of theprocessing portion rotor 11 b and the inner surface of the processingportion stator 12 b of the processing portion 10B are both formed tohave a smooth surface (linear in the longitudinal section) withoutirregularities. However, the mode of the present invention is notlimited to this embodiment, and the outer surface of the processingportion rotor 11 b and the inner surface of the processing portionstator 12 b may be formed to have a smooth surface (liner in thelongitudinal section) having smaller irregularities. The irregularitiesare regulated at such a level that the dispersion or grinding can beperformed reliably even when the shearing force lowers in theconsiderable change of shearing force due to a variation in the gap Gt.In other words, minute irregularities may be formed in the outer surfaceof the processing portion rotor 11 b and the inner surface of theprocessing portion stator 12 b within the range assuring the operations.The irregularities may be formed into, for example, pointed recess andprojection, or spiral recess and projection, or annular recess andprojection.

Furthermore, in the foregoing embodiment, the supply portion 10Aincludes the inlet rotor 13 a having a tapered outer peripheral surfaceand the inlet stator 14 having a corresponding inner surface shape.However, according to the mode of the present invention, theconfiguration is not limited to the foregoing. For example, aconfiguration shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 may be adopted. FIG. 3 is afrontal cross sectional view showing a main part of a dispersion machineaccording to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 isa cross sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3. It shouldbe noted that, in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, an inlet side and an outlet sideare shown in horizontally opposite sides to those shown in FIG. 1 andFIG. 2.

With this dispersion machine 1′, a rotating body 3A is formed to have aconstant diameter from a supply portion 10A′ to a discharge portion10C′, and a stator 5′ is also formed to have a substantially constantinner diameter. The supply portion 10A′ is provided with a supply hole14 b′ extending in a direction intersecting an axis of the rotating body3A to supply a material to be processed to a peripheral surface of therotating body 3A. Moreover, the discharge portion 10C′ is constituted byonly the stator 5′ without include the rotating body 3A, and has aninner cavity whose diameter decreases steeply as the inner peripheralsurface of the stator 5′ approaches a discharge side. With thisdispersion machine 1′, in order to convey the material to be processedin the processing portion 10B′, it is necessary to apply pressure topush the material to be processed to the rotating body 3A in the supplyportion 10A′, or forcibly feed the material to be processed to therotating body 3A side with a screw feeder or a liquid feeding pump(neither are shown). The screw feeder is used when the material to beprocessed is a solid, and the liquid feeding pump is used when thematerial to be processed is a liquid or contains a liquid. In FIG. 3,reference numeral 21′ denotes a rotational shaft corresponding to therotational shaft 21.

Furthermore, according to the mode of the present invention, as shown inFIG. 5, a spiral fin 11 a-1″ may be provided on an outer peripheralsurface of an inlet rotor 11 a″ of a supply portion 10A″. In this case,since the material to be processed is forcibly supplied from the supplyportion 10A″ to a processing portion 10B″ with the rotation of the fin11 a-1″, stable supply of the material to be processed to the processingportion 10B″ is enabled. In this case, a rotary driver may include anexisting rotor rotating mechanism (endless belt 24, electric motor 23 orthe like). In FIG. 5, a fin 11 a-1″ is provided on a tapered outerperipheral surface of an inlet rotor 11 a″. According to the mode of thepresent invention, the configuration is not limited to the foregoing.For example, a spiral fin 11 a-1″ may be provided on an outer peripheralsurface of a rotating part 11 a′″ which is located on the left side ofthe inlet rotor 11 a″ and has a constant outer diameter. Otherwise, aspiral fin 11 a-1″ may be provided on both the inlet rotor 11 a″ havingthe tapered outer peripheral surface and the rotating part 11 a′″ havingthe constant outer diameter. The rotating part 11 a′″ may be provided asan extending part of the inlet rotor 11 a″ or an extending part of therotational shaft 21. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 3″ denotes a rotatingbody, and reference numeral 5″ denotes a stator.

Further, the endless belt 24 may be replaced with a gear. In this case,a gear mechanism including a plurality of transmission gears is providedbetween an output shaft 23 a of an electric motor 23 and a rotationalshaft 21. Otherwise, the rotational shaft 21 and the output shaft 23 aof the electric motor 23 may be directly coupled by a way of directcoupling.

Furthermore, in the foregoing embodiment, the processing portion 10B isprovided with the processing portion rotor 11 b having the constantouter diameter. However, according to the mode of the present invention,the configuration is not limited to the foregoing. It may be appreciatedto adopt a rotor whose outer diameter changes at a fixed ratio relativeto the axis, that is, a rotor having a tapered outer peripheral surface.In this case, the smaller diameter end of the rotor having the taperedouter peripheral surface may be disposed either on the inlet side or theoutlet side. The inclination of the outer peripheral surface of therotor having a tapered outer peripheral surface relative to the axis ispreferably set at, for example, 10 degrees or less. Nevertheless, thegap Gt between the rotor and the stator of the processing portion 10B isconstant in the axial direction. In other words, the gap Gt is held tobe constant in the axial direction, the inner periphery of the statorand the outer periphery of the rotor in the processing portion 1B mayboth be made to be a circle in a cross section orthogonally intersectingthe axis of the rotor, and to be linear in a cross section bearing theaxis. In the case of using such a rotor as having a tapered outerperipheral surface, both the inner periphery of the stator and the outerperiphery of the rotor incline relative to the axis, a shearing forcedistribution having a smaller gradient of shearing force can beobtained. A material to be processed will move in the foregoing shearingforce distribution. Accordingly, an intended shearing force can beapplied to the material to be processed by adjusting the diameter of therotor, and it is thereby possible to apply stable shearing force to thematerial to be processed.

Furthermore, in the foregoing embodiment, the processing portion stator12 b is provided with the cooling water passage 16, but the processingportion rotor 11 b is not provided with cooling means. However,according to the mode of the present invention, the configuration is notlimited to the foregoing. As shown in FIG. 6, a processing portion rotor11 b may be provided with cooling means. Specifically, a cooling waterpassage 38 is formed in the processing portion rotor 11 b and in arotational shaft 21 for imparting a rotating force to the processingportion rotor 11 b, and a water supply and drainage member 39 isprovided on the opposite end of the rotational shaft 21 to theprocessing portion rotor 11 b. The water supply and drainage member 39is maintained at a fixed posture irrespective of the rotation of therotational shaft 21. Cooling water is supplied to the cooling waterpassage 38 through a water supply port 39 d provided in the water supplyand drainage member 39, and discharged from the cooling water passage 38through a water drainage port 39 e provided in the water supply anddrainage member 39. In FIG. 6, the same reference numerals are given tosimilar components to those shown in FIG. 3. Moreover, according to themode of the present invention, the cooling mechanism may be omitted fromat least one of the processing portion stator 12 b and the processingportion rotor 11 b.

The specific embodiments described above mainly include the mode of thepresent invention having the following configurations.

A dispersion and grinding machine according to one mode of the presentinvention comprises a supply portion for supplying a material to beprocessed, a processing portion for subjecting the material to beprocessed, which is supplied by the supply portion, to dispersion orgrinding processing, and a discharge portion for discharging, from theprocessing portion, the material that has been processed by theprocessing portion, wherein the processing portion includes a statorhaving an inner cavity, and a rotor provided in the inner cavity androtatable about an axis of the stator, and the material to be processedbeing processed in a gap between an outer peripheral surface of therotor and an inner peripheral surface of the stator, the innerperipheral surface facing the outer peripheral surface of the rotor,wherein the inner peripheral surface of the stator and the outerperipheral surface of the rotor are circular in a cross sectionorthogonally intersecting the axis of the rotor, and linear in a crosssection bearing the axis, and the gap between the inner peripheralsurface of the stator and the outer peripheral surface of the rotor isconstant in the circumferential direction and the axial direction.

With the foregoing configuration, it is possible to suppress variationsin the dispersion/grinding processing, and to apply stable shearingforce to the material to be processed, which makes it possible toperform the more efficient dispersion/grinding.

In the foregoing configuration, preferably, the outer peripheral surfaceof the rotor and the inner peripheral surface of the stator in theprocessing portion both have a smooth surface. Accordingly, it ispossible to make the gap between the stator and the rotor to be moreuniform in different locations.

In the foregoing configuration, preferably, the discharge portionincludes a screw rotor for conveying the material that has beenprocessed by the processing portion, and an outlet stator that surroundsthe screw rotor. Accordingly, the screw rotor can forcibly discharge thematerial processed in the processing portion, and it is thus possible tosuppress the increase in the internal pressure of the processingportion.

In the foregoing configuration, preferably, the supply portion includesan inlet rotor having a tapered peripheral surface whose diameter islarger in processing portion side than in the supply portion inlet side,and an inlet stator that surrounds the inlet rotor. Since the outerdiameter of the inlet rotor and the inner diameter of the inlet statorare both formed to be larger on the processing portion side than theinlet side, the material to be processed can be more easily sucked intothe processing portion side, and the material to be processed can besmoothly supplied to the processing portion.

In the foregoing configuration, preferably, the supply portion comprisesan inlet rotor having a spiral fin on an outer peripheral surfacethereof to supply the material to be processed to the processingportion. Since the fin forcibly supplies the material to be processed tothe processing portion, the material to be processed can be stablysupplied to the processing portion.

In the foregoing configuration, preferably, the rotor in the processingportion has a constant outer diameter along the axial direction.Accordingly, high efficiency processing can be performed at the inlet ofthe processing portion. In other words, in the case of Patent Literature1, the efficiency of dispersion or grinding processing rises as theprocessing approaches the outer periphery of the disk-shapedgrindstones. In the foregoing configuration of the present invention,high efficiency dispersion/grinding processing can be performed in allregions from the inlet end to the outlet end of the processing portion.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A dispersion and grinding machinecomprising a supply portion for supplying a material to be processed, aprocessing portion for subjecting the material to be processed, which issupplied by the supply portion, to dispersion or grinding processing,and a discharge portion for discharging, from the processing portion,the material that has been processed by the processing portion, whereinthe processing portion includes a stator having an inner cavity with aninner peripheral surface, and a rotor provided in the inner cavity androtatable about an axis of the stator, and the material to be processedbeing processed in a gap between an outer peripheral surface of therotor and the inner peripheral surface of the stator, the innerperipheral surface facing the outer peripheral surface of the rotor,wherein the inner peripheral surface of the stator and the outerperipheral surface of the rotor are concentrically circular in a crosssection orthogonally intersecting the axis of the rotor, and linear in across section bearing the axis, and the gap between the inner peripheralsurface of the stator and the outer peripheral surface of the rotor isconstant in the circumferential direction and the axial direction,wherein the discharge portion includes a screw rotor for conveying thematerial that has been processed by the processing portion, an outletstator that surrounds the screw rotor and includes an insertion holehaving a constant inner diameter, and a holding part that holds theoutlet stator and has a discharge outlet for discharging the processedmaterial to the outside, the screw rotor being formed with a fin in sucha way as to forcibly discharge the processed material with a rotation ofthe screw rotor, the discharge outlet of the holding part having thesame diameter as the insertion hole of the outlet stator, and whereinthe rotor of the processing portion and the screw rotor of the dischargeportion are integrated with each other with their respective axes beingaligned and extending in a horizontal direction, the dispersion andgrinding machine further comprising: a single rotating driver fordrivingly rotating the rotor and the screw rotor.
 2. The dispersion andgrinding machine according to claim 1, wherein the outer peripheralsurface of the rotor and the inner peripheral surface of the stator inthe processing portion both has a smooth surface.
 3. The dispersion andgrinding machine according to claim 1, wherein the supply portionincludes an inlet rotor having a tapered peripheral surface whosediameter is larger in the processing portion side than in the supplyportion inlet side, and an inlet stator that surrounds the inlet rotor.4. The dispersion and grinding machine according to claim 1, wherein thesupply portion comprises an inlet rotor having a spiral fin on an outerperipheral surface thereof to supply the material to be processed to theprocessing portion.
 5. The dispersion and grinding machine according toclaim 4, wherein the rotor in the processing portion has a constantouter diameter along the axial direction.
 6. The dispersion and grindingmachine according to claim 2, wherein the supply portion includes aninlet rotor having a tapered peripheral surface whose diameter is largerin the processing portion side than in the supply portion inlet side,and an inlet stator that surrounds the inlet rotor.
 7. The dispersionand grinding machine according to claim 2, wherein the supply portioncomprises an inlet rotor having a spiral fin on an outer peripheralsurface thereof to supply the material to be processed to the processingportion.
 8. The dispersion and grinding machine according to claim 6,wherein the rotor in the processing portion has a constant outerdiameter along the axial direction.
 9. The dispersion and grindingmachine according to claim 7, wherein the rotor in the processingportion has a constant outer diameter along the axial direction.
 10. Thedispersion and grinding machine according to claim 3, wherein the rotorin the processing portion has a constant outer diameter along the axialdirection.